JD Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ becomes political lightning rod

[Pelican Press 0]

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JD Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ becomes political lightning rod

As ********* voters start to familiarize themselves with Donald Trump’s newly announced vice-presidential candidate Ohio Senator JD Vance it is nearly impossible to avoid his infamous memoir.

Written in 2016, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” tells the story of Mr Vance’s upbringing in the Appalachian region of the US, which includes his home state of Ohio, and offers a glimpse at what he says life is like for the poor who live in rural areas.

The book, which has garnered critique in the years since it was published, has become a new political lightning rod in the 2024 presidential race as some critics of Mr Vance say it shows a lack of understanding of what it means to be from the region while others argue the opposite.

Fans of the rising GOP star are also captivated by the book and purchasing it in large numbers, watching its movie adaptation on streaming platforms and claiming it shows Mr Vance is an everyday man.

The memoir, in its text form or the movie adaptation – which received several Academy Award nominations, may offer voters a glimpse of who Mr Vance is and how he views his upbringing.

The book has become such a popular talking point online that the popular book recommendation site Goodreads blocked new reviews after Trump made the Ohio senator his running mate.

As of Tuesday, users who went to book platform to review Mr Vance’s book were met with a popup that read: “Rating this book is temporarily unavailable. This book has temporary limitations on submitting ratings and reviews. This may be because we’ve detected unusual behavior that doesn’t follow our review guidelines”.

This is likely to stop users from review ******** – negatively reviewing something for reasons not associated with the topic itself.

Goodreads declined to comment after asked by the BBC about why users had been unable to rate the book.

Review ********, which often happens to movies, books and restaurants after controversy, has become an increasingly common way for people to share their displeasure with something while attempting to sabotage a product, place or person.

In the online era, the practice is only growing in popularity.

It happened to acclaimed “Eat Pray Love” writer Elizabeth Gilbert last year after she authored a book readers said was “glorifying” Russians. Readers review bombed the book online to the point where Ms Gilbert paused publication.

On top of the online criticism of Mr Vance’s book, the movie adaptation has also seen some online hate.

In recent days, Letterboxd, a Goodreads equivalent for movies, also saw an uptick in reviews of the movie adaptation of the book directed by Ron Howard and starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams.

But it is not all hate.

The book, in paperback and hardcover, currently ranks No. 1 and No. 2 on

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’s best-selling books.

The film, which was released in 2020 and received multiple Academy Award nominations at the time, shot to No. 6 on

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’s top 10 movies the day after Mr Vance’s selection was announced.

And while the memoir tells the story of his upbringing, its publication marks the launch of his political career.

“Hillbilly Elegy” made Mr Vance a New York Times best-selling author, propelling him to a national platform that he used to become an Ohio senator. Less than two years later, he is now the *********** vice-presidential nominee.

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